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Is this the End of the Road for Kell Brook?

Posted on 05/30/2017

Is this the end of the road for Kell Brook?
By: Kirk Jackson

Errol Spence 22-0 (19 KO’s) emerged victorious as the newly crowned IBF welterweight champion over the weekend, dethroning Kell Brook 36-2 (25 KO’s) and solidifying his claim as one of the top fighters in the stacked welterweight division.

While “Strap season” is in full-effect as the future appears bright for Spence, many wonder what’s next for Brook?
The first issue to address is the eye injury and path to recovery.

In the fight with Spence, Brook says the injury occurred in the seventh round and continued to get worse as the contest wore on.

“I got caught on the left eye in the seventh and it felt really bad,” Brook said. “It was the one the worst feelings I ever had. Kind of like when Triple G [Gennady Golovkin] hit me and fractured my orbital bone. It was devastating. I just couldn’t see.”

Brook continued, “It was a competitive fight. He got some rounds, I won some rounds too. I felt I was winning, but my eye didn’t allow me to continue. I just couldn’t see. You can’t fight if you can’t see.”

“I got put down, and I got up because I’m warrior. I got up and kept on fighting, but on the eleven I just couldn’t see. I had to take the knee.”

Golovkin destroyed Brook’s right eye in their encounter last September, fracturing his orbital bone. After surgery, titanium infused plates and rehabilitation, Brook returned to form prior to taking his match with Spence.

Against Spence however, Brook suffered injury to his left eye; having that side of his orbital fractured (courtesy of right jabs from Spence).

Brook’s promoter Eddie Hearn mentioned the possibility of Brook moving up to junior middleweight (154 lbs) prior to his fight against Spence.

The question beckons if Brook is sustaining serious eye injuries in consecutive fights, will this continue to be an issue in subsequent fights?

Will this force the star from Sheffield to consider retirement?

Brook more than held his own against Spence, in a highly competitive, back and forth bout for the first six rounds.

And prior to taking a knee and essentially ending the fight, Brook fought valiantly in brief stretches during the championship rounds.

But as early as the first round, Spence deposited hard, thrashing punches to the body and comprehensively broke Brook’s frame, face and spirit.

Brook looked gassed after six rounds and the young American arguably delivered a greater beat-down in comparison to Golovkin’s performance.

Back to back physically debilitating defeats in such a demanding sport can be hard to recover from.

Let’s say theoretically, Brook recovers from injury and decides to move up in weight and campaign at junior middleweight.

He will have issues competing in that weight class if he decides to fight the best opposition available.

Not only is the competition stiff at junior middleweight, but they are sharks in the water and Brook is looking like fresh bait.

In regards to competition in the eyes of the public, Brook proved himself and has high stock. It now may be time to cash out before calling it a career.

It can be suggested Brook already attempted to cash out; going on suicide missions fighting a powerful punching middleweight Golovkin and defending his IBF title against one of the division’s most potent and technical welterweights in back to back, high profile fights.

Brook may now have a few tune-ups en route to a large, block buster event. Cue in Khan.

Hearn mentioned the possibility of matching Brook with long-time rival Amir Khan; a match-up he tried to make many times in the past.

I got beat in the war I had with Canelo, Brook showed no respect! but I wish him and his family all best and hope he has no serious injury

The likely move, somewhere between 147 and 154 lbs is Khan. After a long recovery period, Brook and Khan will more than likely have tune-up fights in preparation for their long-awaited duel sometime in 2018.
Brook may have a few more fights before he make

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Kell Brook Is Neither A Wimp, Nor A Coward

Posted on 05/29/2017

Kell Brook Is Neither A Wimp, Nor A Coward
By: Sean Crose

It was inevitable, I suppose. After getting severely hurt by Gennady Golovkin last fall, then getting severely hurt again by Errol Spence Jr on Saturday, British welterweight Kell Brook is receiving heat for going down on one knee and taking a ten count. Heaven forbid. When he went up two weight classes to face Golovkin last year, Brook had his right orbital bone damaged in a fight where he performed gamely. His corner wisely threw in the towel. This past Saturday, in front of his home town of Sheffield, England, Brook had his left orbital bone damaged in his welterweight title defense against Spence in another bout where he had been performing gamely. This time, however, Brook’s corner didn’t throw in the towel, so the beaten man went on one knee and took a dignified ten count.

And for this grave offense, we’re told by some that Brook is a wimp and/or a coward. Never mind the fact that during a time when Floyd Mayweather may face the mother of all cherry picks in Conor McGregor, Brook has faced not one, but two of the most feared fighters in all of boxing – in a row, no less. If that weren’t enough, people should keep in mind that Brook could easily have avoided fighting both Golovkin and Spence. Perhaps Brook himself is actually wondering if he should have taken on such adversaries, since he’s now essentially being knocked for traveling the less than easy road. Here’s a question, though: What kind of message does all of this give talented young fighters who may want to avoid the low-risk/high reward deathtrap that, until very recently, has completely stagnated the sport of boxing? Are we now demanding these fighters not only face the best consistently, but then “take it like a man” and absorb perhaps permanent damage when they’re being beaten senseless? Let’s hope not.

I wrote about this nonsense on Twitter this weekend and was surprised by the response. Most who responded clearly agreed that Brook deserved credit. Those of another train of thought than my own, though, basically brought up two points. First, that Spence wasn’t all THAT menacing, and, second, that Brook was very well paid for the beatings he took. The truth is that I can’t respond to either of those points, since I haven’t fought Errol Spence, nor do I have any idea what kind of money Kell Brook has made over the past twelve months or so. What I do know, however, is that the guy stepped up and fought two people he was predicted to lose against when he didn’t have to. I also saw him give it his all and clearly take visible damage in the process.

How many other modern, top-name fighters have you seen step up like Brook has – on more than one occasion, no less?